Page 156 - Costellazioni 6

GÜNTER RADDEN, Meaningful Grammar

Language communities have found an elegant solution to
reconcile the isomorphic need of clarity and the economic need of
keeping the number of words and constructions at a minimum: Poly-
semy is tolerated when the meanings of the linguistic sign are con-
nected and relatable to a common, higher-level meaning. This was
shown to be possible with the two senses of the be going to-Future and
the four types of modality. The range of subtypes that belong to the
overall grammatical category was shown to be determined by the
common form(s): the be going to-construction and the modal verbs.
Form and meaning are thus inseparably intertwined. This, of course,
also applies to the converse part of the principle of isomorphism: Dif-
ferent forms convey different meanings. The range of a linguistic unit
ends where it borders on another linguistic form.

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